As if we didn't chat about pin curls enough. . .

[Kaela]

I think it might take a little practice with your particular hair type to see what's right for you. When I use a 1/2 inch strand of hair, my hair is just frizzy and has no curl at all. I find my results are best when I make it slightly spiraled, this gives me body where I need it for side reverse rolls. The more sets you do, the more you'll figure it out. I learn something new just about every time I set my hair, trying one little thing different than before.
Good Luck, Happy Pin-Curling!

 

[humblestumble]

Thanks guys I will have to try this again on the weekend or something since I have school tomorrow again.

Do you all let them dry at night while you sleep? or do you blowdry them? And if you do let them set at night...do you use any products in your hair, or a hairnet/showercap?

I used pomeade and the stuff is STILL in my hair. Albeit, my hair is softer now from it.

 

[MissQueenie]

I think many ladies here use setting lotions (lottabody is the current favorite, I believe) on damp hair before they put the curls in. I am a disaster with pin curls, and have (thankfully!) not experimented with setting lotions -- I feel like I need to be able to wash out unsuccessful attempts completely, at least until I've mastered the technique!

If you want to give it a go, I believe lottabody is easily obtained from beauty supply stores, especially ones that have decently sized sections devoted to the care and styling of African American hair types.

 

[Naama]

Flat or high pincurls?

Hello girls!
So, I've got a question, and guess what, it's about hair
So I found this picture

and I actually never seen the way they pin the hair on the right side..... What's the different between a flat pinned curl and a not flat pinned one? How will the result look like? Is there a difference anyway? Or is this the Brushcurl? (never heard before as well...)

Naama

 

[Etienne]

Gosh, I just found this site last night and I'm not very familiar with how it all works. I was reading all the discussions about hair and pincurls, etc. and I wanted to just add something to the mix! I'm an older gal (55) and I love all the 40's hairstyles! I grew up doing pincurls to curl my hair, which I learned from my Mom! As she grew older, I would "set" her hair with pincurls all the time. We would use "clippies" to hold them (little silver clips that you would pinch on one end to open) or we'd use 2 bobby pins, criss-crossed. I am sorry that I don't have an answer to the brushcurls question, but I wanted to say that my Mom used to use "sugar water" as a setting solution. She said that's what they would use in her circle of friends. They'd dissolve some sugar in about 1/2 C. of water and use it before curling their hair. I tried it several times as a young girl and it made the hair VERY crisp, for lack of a better word! By that time, we could buy Helene Curtis setting lotion (a lovely scented lavender-colored solution) that came in a tall glass bottle and you'd plunge your comb into the slit in the top of the bottle, withdraw it, and then comb in through each section as you rolled or pincurled it. The brushcurls look just like the ones we would make when we ran out of hair rollers (there were 6 females in my family!) We'd just roll the hair around our fingers and pin it in sort of little tubes. Hope this helps someone out there!

 

[swinggal]

The 'Brushcurl' was a 30s hairstyle and these kinds of waves were pretty much worn by everyone at that time. It was called a Brushcurl because the curls were set 'brushed out' to form waves, which were then set again with clips. Finger waves give a similar result but are wet set from scratch by waving the hair with a comb and the fingers and THEN setting it with Marcel Wave clips.

There is a panel missing from the series however (3), which probably shows the person doing the set brushing the curl out of the hair and forming it into waves which, as you can see in picture 4, are then set using wave clips. So, it was a 2 step process. I have seen the higher pin-curls used before for 30s wave styles yes, and the flat pincurls seem to be more prevalent when setting 40s and 50s styles.

I also know from experience that the higher pincurls are easier to do...and thats helpful.

 

[LolitaHaze]

Gosh, I just found this site last night and I'm not very familiar with how it all works. I was reading all the discussions about hair and pincurls, etc. and I wanted to just add something to the mix! I'm an older gal (55) and I love all the 40's hairstyles! I grew up doing pincurls to curl my hair, which I learned from my Mom! As she grew older, I would "set" her hair with pincurls all the time. We would use "clippies" to hold them (little silver clips that you would pinch on one end to open) or we'd use 2 bobby pins, criss-crossed. I am sorry that I don't have an answer to the brushcurls question, but I wanted to say that my Mom used to use "sugar water" as a setting solution. She said that's what they would use in her circle of friends. They'd dissolve some sugar in about 1/2 C. of water and use it before curling their hair. I tried it several times as a young girl and it made the hair VERY crisp, for lack of a better word! By that time, we could buy Helene Curtis setting lotion (a lovely scented lavender-colored solution) that came in a tall glass bottle and you'd plunge your comb into the slit in the top of the bottle, withdraw it, and then comb in through each section as you rolled or pincurled it. The brushcurls look just like the ones we would make when we ran out of hair rollers (there were 6 females in my family!) We'd just roll the hair around our fingers and pin it in sort of little tubes. Hope this helps someone out there!

What did you use to brush out the pin curls? A comb, wide tooth come, fingers, or brush? I put pin curls in my hair last night and trying to brush them out made nothing but a big frizz ball mess.

 

[Paisley]

What did you use to brush out the pin curls? A comb, wide tooth come, fingers, or brush? I put pin curls in my hair last night and trying to brush them out made nothing but a big frizz ball mess.

When I did pincurls, I used conditioner and John Freida Dream Curls on my wet hair to keep it smooth.

 

[LolitaHaze]

Hmm... I will have to try that. I never use anything in my hair because it will hold curls on it's own. If I do use anything, it is just water. For instance, last night, I set my pin curls and then spritzed it with water. That is all. The curls are there, they stayed nice and tight, I just don't know how to seperate them nicely. It probably doesn't help that my hair is super super thick.

 

[swinggal]

Well, for 40s waves, thats what they did, kept brushing until the tight curls were gone and then styled it. I've had the frizz-ball too, but i kept brushing until it was smooth. But if you want the defined curl you just run your fingers through it or pin the bouncy curls into bigger rolls which is what i usually do at the front.

 

[LolitaHaze]

Wonderful! I was afraid that if I kept brushing it would make it worse. I will do that then. Thank you!

 

[SwingCat123]

I also have hair that holds curl without any work but no matter how much I brush I dont get smooth waves. I dont know how to go from Shirley Temple ringletts to stylish waves like Gene Tierney (see http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/7178/ for examples). Also does anyone know how to go from the pin curl to a big roll?

 

[16_sparrows]

If you want the hair to llok like this, then pin curl at the nape of your neck:

I understand how to set your hair to make it look like this, but my confusion comes to the top of the head. Obviously you would set pin curls at the top as shown in nocturne's tutorial, but what happens after you take out the pins? Do you not brush them out, pin them like heck, like them take up residence on your head?

Anyone have any tips on styling this type of top of the head curls?

 

[Lauren]

Yup, that's what I do! I brush em out, or at least smooth them together, then pin them back on top of my head in the way I want them to go.
Like this:

But for that style you'd brush them up and over the top to frame your face, then twirl the other little curls behind it like Diana (or her hairstylist anyways) has done. Here's another shot where I brushed them out, but this time up and over the top, then I pulled a bit from the back, pulled it up and over the top and curled it in a spiral on top of the pomp:

Diana's is smaller than mine, but you get the general idea.

 

[Etienne]

Lauren, your hair looks fabulous! So feminine and so forties! I was thinking today of these little things called "Spoolies" that my mother sometimes used to curl our hair when we were little girls in the 50's. They looked like little pink rubber martini glasses! You would wind the hair around the stem and then pull the top down and over the pincurl. Anyway, I found a bag of them on eBay today! So nostalgic! I also found out that some store called The Vermont Country Store carries new ones made of plastic. What a trip down memory lane for me!

 

[16_sparrows]

Thanks Lauren! Both hairstyles look great. Now time for me to take a wack at it!

 

[skinnychik]

If I've done my pincurls in the right direction, I can brush them out until they're smooth. Then I just grab a section and roll it in my fingers until I have a big swiss cake roll. If my hair turns out a little frizzy, I just use a little spray conditioner and a comb before I secure the roll to my head. This is probably not the right way, but it works for me.

 

[ricki]

A pincurl tutorial

I scanned in an article from a September 1941 issue of Modern Beauty Shop on pincurls. The text was hard to read so I copied to the step-by-step instructions onto my website:
http://www.stealingapples.com/pincurls.html

Thought a few of you ladies might enjoy this. I might put up a few more of the articles when I have time.

 

[Carolie]

Very cool! Thanks for the tutorial.

Sadly, I can't do it the traditional way thanks to my hair type =/ I have to use a curling iron and then pin them up. *sigh*

 

[Tourbillion]

That's great. However, what I want to know is, anyone out there actually able to do this on themselves, with hairpins? (clips and bobbies don't count). If so, my kudos to you.

I can't.

Also, if anyone has instructions on using one of those pin curl winders, please share. I got one on ebay, and it is now just taking up space in my collection.